The Trailblazers
Composed primarily of former New Union Vanguard, who, for one reason or another, opted to follow the Terra Concord rather than remain loyal to the New Union or join the Coalition in rebelling against it; The Trailblazers are a mixture of experienced scouts, path-finders, and public-relation oriented recruiters who serve as an informal extension of the CAF. While the Trailblazers are much less organized, equipped, and trained than any official branch of the CAF; their requirements to join and conduct in the field is, by all standards, very loose, easy going, and relatively relaxed. As such, the Trailblazers attract a variety of misfit figures, who for one reason another can't or won't join the more disciplined CAF, but still wish to hold a firearm, see the world and occasional action, and assist the Terra Concord in some way or another. Purpose The Trailblazers have two primary tasks; Scouting, and Recruiting. Much of the Terra Concords current mapping information of their region of North America stems from efforts made by the Trailblazers. Not hampered as much by strict regulations and other military duties, the Trailblazers can spend vast amounts of time and use whatever methods at their disposal to accomplish the task of path-finding. Often, they are not bothered by any outside forces, save the occasional bandit group, as the Trailblazers sort of patch-work appearance makes them appear independent, and not at all related to the Concord. Most of the time, they act more as "explorers" than a paramilitary entity. This also works in their favor for recruitment efforts, as the Trailblazers are generally the first to come across neutral settlements as the Concord expands its reach outward. To compliment their relaxed sort of culture as a group, the Trailblazers have several personable and convincing figures who, by one method or another, are able to paint the Concord in a positive light at the very least, and bring home new members at best. A secondary task of the Trailblazers is to mark anything worth investigating or salvaging for the Concord to later collect, as their ventures take them farther and faster then most CAF entities are able. Rarely, there is a chance the Trailblazers may be called upon to assist the CAF in a purely combative role. Here, their strength is their speed and natural understanding of terrain. While not particularly capable of prolonged, face to face engagements, the Trailblazers excel in flanking, harassing, and being a general combative nuisance or distraction. Equipment In general, the Trailblazers wind up with the CAF's surplus, or otherwise obtained but unused equipment. This is true throughout firearms, armor, and vehicles. For firearms, the Trailblazers almost exclusively field ballistic firearms, which tend to be mass produced weapons that have fallen out of favor with the CAF, such as the OICW, the MP5, the M16, and the M4. However, there is little to no restriction to the firearms the Trailblazers are allowed to carry, and thus, whatever they find, so long as its operational, they are allowed to use. This has occasionally caused strange, rare, and unconventional firearms to be seen in the hands of the more veteran Trailblazers. For protection, the Concord offers each trailblazer a basic variant of ballistic Kevlar, which comes from either pre-war uniforms, or decommissioned NU and IDn uniforms. Otherwise, the Trailblazers are allowed to dress and armor themselves as they see fit, with whatever they might find in the field. For Vehicles, the Concord often finds civilian and light armored vehicles that the CAF either has no use for, or is not trained to use. This often comes in the form of off-road SUV's or ATVs, Humvees, and the occasional tank in working condition. The Trailblazers however rarely field tanks, and prefer vehicles equipped to traverse various terrains reliably and quickly. Some have gone as far as constructing their own vehicles on the shells and parts of older vehicles, usually resulting in apocalyptic looking buggies and other oddities. Requirements Several conditions that would likely exclude one from the CAF, may not keep one out of the Trailblazers. This includes various minor disabilities and past injuries. In the field, there very few requirements asked of the Trailblazers. Members may drink, smoke, refuse to shave their beards, etc. However, if they take it too far, there is nothing stopping them from being disciplined by a superior officer. As such, conduct of separate Trailblazer groups tend to vary widely dependent on who is in command. As a whole, the training required of the Trailblazers is quite a few rungs down compared to that required of the CAF, and nothing compared to whats required of the Valkyr. Marksmanship varies, as does physical fitness and mental aptitude, but the Trailblazers by and large don't tolerate anyone who repeatedly threatens their central objectives, or their fellow members.